A Komodo dragon, bison and macaque monkey walk into a bar for classic cocktails….

Nope, there’s no way to thematically match up the two challenges that put our remaining seven Top Chef Canada competitors through the ringer this week. But it’s an episode that does show the remaining chefs are reaching their limits of patience and health.

The judges are toughening up as we draw closer to the end, and so is the competition. It’s the point in the series when even minor errors and mediocre dishes – as opposed to downright awful – will put the cheftestants on the chopping block as we get closer to the grand finale.

A finale that will be held here, in Calgary.

Top Chef Canada is coming to Calgary for the finale. Image courtesy Food Network Canada.

That’s right, it’s a Cowtown showdown for the title of Top Chef Canada.

(That episode will air June 10.)

Before they get to that point, though, chefs have to make dishes inspired by classic cocktails, like the Black Russian, Cosmopolitan and Negroni, for this week’s Quickfire.

“I’ve got to beat one more girl,” she says, noting then she’ll have the penthouse bedroom all to herself.

And all I can think is, “Pride goeth before the fall.”

She’s clearly ready to let her hair down a bit because she downs her entire Negroni while whipping up a dish inspired by the cocktail she hopes will impress guest judge Frankie Solarik, co-owner of BarChef, and host Lisa Ray.

Caity Hall enjoys her negroni. Image courtesy Food Network Canada.

Since immunity is no longer at stake, there’s a $5,000 prize on the table for the winner.

Dennis Tay hopes to win the money so he can add it to the budget for his wedding. His hopes are all but dashed when he draws Black Russian, a cocktail made from coffee liqueur and vodka. He opts for a dessert of Chocolate and Coffee Pots de Crème with Minted Whip Cream – a ballsy move with only 40 minutes on the clock.

A sick Gomes draws Caesar – fitting for the Calgary chef, considering the cocktail was first concocted here – while Matthew Stowe pulls Whiskey Sour. Geoff Rogers has to use an Old Fashioned as his inspiration and Danny Smiles gets Mojito, which transports him back to a trip to Jamaica.

With fewer chefs in the competition, we’re starting to get more back stories on those still in the running. Some of it is light and lovely, like Tay talking about how much he loves his fiancée.

Dennis Tay and his fiancee. Image courtesy Food Network Canada.

Some of it is not, instead exposing a side of chef life not often talked about.

As Rogers talks about the whiskey going into his risotto, we also see him in his one-on-one, sharing stories of his past and the drugs and alcohol that were part of it.

“I did a boat load of cocaine; I would drink myself silly every single night,” he says in a confessional that truly feels like confession. “I should have been dead at this point, to be truly honest.”

It’s a heavy moment, a hit to the gut, and a reminder that the versions of these chefs we see on television are only a small representation of what they’ve gone through to get to this point.

Solarik is left unimpressed by Gomes and Smiles, but has high praise for Tay and Goodyear who had made a Striped Bass Ceviche with Marinated Oyster for his Cosmopolitan. (I laughed that he pulled the drink made famous by the women on Sex and the City.) But the win – and the money – goes to Tay.

As the winner, he gets to pick the order of dishes for their next challenge: a seven-course tasting menu inspired by animals at the Toronto Zoo. That is, the dishes need to reflect where those animals live and what they eat; it’s not a Lion Taco situation.

As if they didn’t already feel the pressure, head judge Chef Mark McEwan shows up to remind them that mistakes will cost them the title and that judges are looking for drama and flair.

Tay chooses Indo Malaya and the Lion-tailed Macaque monkey, noting he will draw on his Filipino roots for the dish. Goodyear picks Canada’s wood bison, while Hall selects the Komodo Dragon of Australasia. Rogers gets the polar bear, Stowe the blue and yellow Macaw from the Americas, Smiles the snow leopard of Eurasia. That leaves Nicole with the African rainforest and the Western Lowland gorilla.

Tay sets up the order, putting a fish dish between two meat courses – a decision that perplexes the other chefs. Stowe says he hopes Tay wears it if the judges decide it’s wrong to do that. But I’m surprised no one says anything out loud when Tay asks if they’re good with the line-up. What if the judges call out the chefs for not raising concerns?

As the tootle along on the zoo property, checking out the animals, chefs pick what each other would be if they were part of the animal kingdom.

“If Nicole was an animal, she’d be a panda bear because she’s cute and cuddly,” Goodyear says of Gomes. Aw, that’s nice.

Stowe says Goodyear would be a parrot because they like to hear themselves talk. Ouch.

Goodyear says Stowe would be a shark because he has sleek hair. Um? What? Not because he’s kind of a cutthroat competitor?

Gomes draws a blank when asked what Hall would be. But the editors cut to some footage of a coiled-up snake. Subtle, editors. Very subtle.

Like most of these off-site challenges, there are problems: bugs, uneven cooking surfaces, Smiles’ sous vide machine stops working.

Goodyear’s challenge is the heat, which could leave his beef tartare unsafe to eat. But he presents a perfect dish that the judges – including the zoo’s nutritionist Jaap Wensvoort and Chef Michael Voltaggio, owner of Ink and winner of Top Chef Las Vegas – call well spiced and flavourful.

Tay is panicked because his consommé is murky and swamp-like instead of clear. He takes a chance by redoing it with only 40 minutes before judging. The risk pays off; his Quail and Tamarind Consomme with Poached Quail Egg is well received.

The judges are less pleased with Gomes’s Herbivore Tortellini, which they call disjointed.

“We’re looking for chest-beating dishes,” Ray says.

Lisa Ray wants to taste a dish that makes her want to pound her chest like a gorilla. Image courtesy Food Network Canada.

Smiles notes leopards eat a lot of birds, so he offers up an Asian Spiced Chicken with Sauteed Vegetables and Pickled Chicken Hearts. They don’t look tasty, but the hearts earn Smiles kudos from the judges.

There’s no love for Rogers’ Seared Arctic Char with Shellfish Ragout, which is overcooked and flat. The judges are also unimpressed with Hall’s Grilled Calves Liver and Foie. I get her concept – the Komodo dragon eats everything when it eats an animal, so this is a nod to that – but it seems the follow through didn’t live up to the vision.

Last is Stowe with a Coconut Tapioca with Tropical Fruits and Coconut-Macadamia Nut Crumble, which earns high praise.

“Eating your way through the rainforest,” says Voltaggio.

At Judge’s Table, Tay, Goodyear, Smiles and Stowe are called in first, leaving the other three to sweat it out in the pantry.

McEwan looks sternly at Tay and demands to know how he came up with the menu progression. Poor Tay looks like he’s going to pass out until Ray announces they’re the top four for the challenge.

I like how Voltaggio is then quick to point out how cruel he thought it was for McEwan to do that. Good for you, chef.

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